The Toe Memorial...

The Toe Memorial - as it is now, and as it was 100 years ago...

The remains of the "Toe Memorial" today...

At the top of the path that runs to the west of Birch Wood, just to the south of the parish boundary between Cuxton and Cobham, lie the remains of a rather curious monument, locally known as the “Toe Memorial.”

Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley...

Hidden amongst a stand of yew trees, it marks the spot where (so the story goes) Edward Bligh, the 5th Earl of Darnley, FRS, (b.1795) received a self-inflicted wound that led to his untimely death at the age of 39. As local historian Derek Church tells us:

“On 4^th. February 1835, Lord Darnley was walking in the [Cobham] Park with his cousin, Charles Bligh, when they came across some woodcutters. Possibly thinking that he could do better, Lord Darnley borrowed an axe and said ‘Now I’ll show you how to cut a root in halves’. He struck a mighty blow that glanced off the root and nearly severed his little toe..." 

He started and said: “I have harmed myself, I fear! But it might have been worse and I ought to consider myself fortunate…”  He staggered to a nearby cottage just above the scene of the accident, where his foot was dressed.

The Earl clearly didn't take the accident seriously: only the next day he wrote: “We are all well here, barring that I almost cut off a little toe with an axe yesterday: providentially it is a matter of no consequence, but might have been a serious accident...

But in the days before tetanus injections, such an injury was a serious matter. This illness, (also known as lockjaw) set in and a week after the accident, the Earl died.

Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley...

His grieving widow, the Countess of Darnley, Emma Jane Bligh (nee Parnell), mother of Lord Darnley’s five children, subsequently had the memorial built to commemorate the incident.

Some have written that the Countess Darnley’s shrine to her late husband is a “monument to arrogance and stupidity”, but a little research soon shows that the arrogance and stupidity lies only with those who would suggest such a thing. Indeed, this slur has been thoroughly debunked by local historian Geoff Ettridge in his excellent blog post on the subject (a link to which is given below).

As Geoff tells us, the 5th Earl of Darnley was, by any standards, a forward-thinking, honest, liberal man who was well respected by all who knew him, and his sad loss was keenly felt by both his peers and his estate workers at the time. To imply that he was perennially arrogant or stupid is a grievous sleight, both upon the man’s character and to his memory.

The memorial, alas, has not withstood the tests of time. Rather like the adjacent Darnley mausoleum (built in 1876 by the third Earl of Darnley, Edward’s grandfather) it suffered extensive vandalism in the seventies and eighties, but unlike the mausoleum, it has not been subject to restoration.

A photograph of the memorial from around 1920 shows the Toe Memorial as it was in its original state (see below).

The Toe Memorial, c. 1920...

I suspect that the scrap value of its intricate metal railings may have been a big factor behind its subsequent destruction. There is certainly no trace of them in the area now, whilst the carved stonework still lies sadly scattered around the remaining plinth.

Debretts Peerage tells us that the Arms of Bligh (the heraldic symbols of the Earls of Darnley) comprises of “Azure, a Griffin segreant Or, armes and langued Gules, between three Crescents Argent. Crest: A Griffin’s Head erased Or. Supporters: On either side a Griffin wings expanded Or, ducally collared and chained Azure.”

I don’t have a clue as to what any of that means, but the gryphon motif can be seen on one of the fallen stones, and features prominently above the entrance to the nearby Darnley Mausoleum, as shown below…

Headstone from memorial bearing the Darnley heraldic gryphon...

Heraldic Darnley gryphons above the Mausoleum entrance (N.B. Finem Respice: Consider The End)...

Perhaps one day the Toe Memorial will be restored to its former condition but for the moment, it remains one of Cuxton’s many hidden and intriguing gems.

References:

1)   Cuxton: A Kentish Village by Derek Church (published by Arthur J Cassell Ltd, 1976, ISBN 0 903253 12 7), p 18.

2)    "Memorial to Lord Darnley's Toe", Geoff Rambler's Weird and Wonderful Kent, blog post by Geoff Ettridge (link here).

3)   Lost Landscapes - Cuxton Heritage Trail (link here).

Vanished Cuxton - Warren House...

Tucked away on the hill on the western Cuxton parish boundary, just above the point where Bush Road becomes Warren Road, lies Warren House. Until quite recently this was the home of Abbeymount Kennels, but the kennels have now closed down. It is a pleasant, modern-looking house (see below), built in 2010, close to the site of a much older cottage that served as a gamekeepers lodge for workers tending the Darnley estate over the hill in nearby Cobham.

Warren House - as it is today...

The original building was a single storey flint cottage, with a steep thatched roof and a distinctive arched door and windows in the “Gothick” style. I am not sure exactly when it was built, but a census taken in 1841 shows that Warren House was then the residence of a Mr. Joseph Ricketts, gamekeeper. Warren House features on an 1869 Ordnance Survey map of the area (shown below) but not on an earlier (though rather crude) map of 1769, so it would be reasonable to assume that it was probably built in the early part of the 19^th century. 

Ordnance Survey map, revision 1869, showing Warren House...

A photograph taken in the early part of the 20^th century shows gamekeeper John Griffin and his young son, Ron, in front of the original cottage (see below).

Gamekeeper John Griffin and his son, Ron, outside Warren House, 1908...

The OS map of 1895 (see below) showed a phesantry to the rear of the cottage, where pheasants were reared for the Darnley estate shoot.

Ordnance Survey map, 1895 revision, showing Warren House...

Brood hens were used to hatch the pheasant eggs, hence the scene in the photograph below.

Warren House pheasantry, c 1912; L-R, Ron Griffin, John Griffin, Joe Cogger, Charlie Ashenden...

Dormer windows were added to the cottage in 1914 (see below) to give light to bedrooms in the roof, doubtless added to make a bit more room for the Griffin’s growing family.

Warren House, c 1920...

The Griffin family lived in the cottage until 1923, until a spark from the chimney set light to the thatched roof and the cottage burnt down. The Rochester Fire brigade attended but the cottage well had run dry and water had to be pumped from the forge down the lane. The Griffins stayed in Bush until the cottage was rebuilt, with the new cottage reconstructed much in the style of the old one, but with a tiled roof. The cottage well was back-filled in 1938, when mains water became available. 

A watercolour painting (held in the Victoria and Albert Museum) shows the cottage as it appeared in 1940 (see below).

 "Gamekeepers Cottage, The Warren House, Cuxton Valley", by George Hennell, c.1940...

The cottage looked much the same in 1971 (see below)...

Warren House, 1971...

The attractive flint walls appeared to have been rendered as part of the rebuilding work after the fire, but the "Gothick" arched windows and door were retained.

The kennels appear to have been given planning permission in 1995, and closed only recently.

By 2007, Warren House had been modernised and extended at the side and rear. Planning permission was sought in 2007 to build a 40% larger dwelling on the same plot just above the existing cottage, but was refused by Medway Council due to green belt considerations and the size of the proposed new cottage! 

Obviously, Medway Council's planners are far less concerned about the green belt these days, given that they have become passionate advocates for a 16,000 m2 (!) billionaire tax exile's vanity winery at Upper Bush!

After reducing the size of their proposed new bungalow, planning permission was granted to the applicants in late 2010. However, Medway Council's (now non-existent) determination to protect the green belt led to them to specify that the old Warren House had to be demolished, so that there could not be two dwellings on the site. 

Construction of the new Warren House in 2011: the original (on the right) was demolished shortly afterwards...

Despite opposition from Cuxton Parish Council, the cottage was demolished in 2011, and so Cuxton lost another of its few remaining historic buildings.

References:

1)    Cuxton: A Kentish Village by Derek Church (published by Arthur J Cassell Ltd, 1976, ISBN 0 903253 12 7), pp 76-77.

2)    Ordnance Survey Maps - Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952

3)    Victoria & Albert Museum collection

4)     Medway Council Planning portal decision notice